Test yourself: how well do you know yourselt? Choose the answer that is most like you. There are no right or wrong answers. Count how many times you choose A, B or C.
1. Your group starts a new project. What do you do?
A. I make a plan.
B. I help other people.
C. I share a new idea.
2. Your classmate is nervous. What do you do?
A. I help them prepare.
B. I say something kind.
C. I give them advice.
3. You get a difficult task. What do you do?
A. I follow the instructions carefully.
B. I ask someone to work with me.
C. I try to find a solution.
4. Your class is preparing an event. What would you prefer to do?
A. Organise the activities.
B. Welcome the visitors.
C. Design a poster.
5. Your group has a problem. What do you do?
A. I check what we need to do.
B. I listen to everyone.
C. I suggest a different idea.
Your Result
Mostly A — The Reliable Organiser. You are probably organised, reliable and responsible. You like making plans and completing your work carefully. Other people can depend on you.
Mostly B — The Friendly Helper. You are probably gentle, warm and sociable. You enjoy helping people and making them feel welcome. You work well with others.
Mostly C — The Confident Thinker. You are probably confident, keen and smart. You enjoy new ideas and solving problems. You are ready to try different things.
The same number of two letters? You may have qualities from both personality types.
1. Your group starts a new project. What do you do?
A. I make a plan.
B. I help other people.
C. I share a new idea.
2. Your classmate is nervous. What do you do?
A. I help them prepare.
B. I say something kind.
C. I give them advice.
3. You get a difficult task. What do you do?
A. I follow the instructions carefully.
B. I ask someone to work with me.
C. I try to find a solution.
4. Your class is preparing an event. What would you prefer to do?
A. Organise the activities.
B. Welcome the visitors.
C. Design a poster.
5. Your group has a problem. What do you do?
A. I check what we need to do.
B. I listen to everyone.
C. I suggest a different idea.
Your Result
Mostly A — The Reliable Organiser. You are probably organised, reliable and responsible. You like making plans and completing your work carefully. Other people can depend on you.
Mostly B — The Friendly Helper. You are probably gentle, warm and sociable. You enjoy helping people and making them feel welcome. You work well with others.
Mostly C — The Confident Thinker. You are probably confident, keen and smart. You enjoy new ideas and solving problems. You are ready to try different things.
The same number of two letters? You may have qualities from both personality types.
Revise: your choices reveal different aspects of your personality. Some qualities influence how you communicate, while others affect how you work, make decisions and respond to challenges. Before exploring new personality traits, revise the words you studied in Form 7: How to Talk about a Person's Character
Learn: now explore some new words that will help you describe personality traits more clearly and accurately.
Positive personality traits
confident — [ˈkɒn.fɪ.dənt] — feeling sure about your own abilities and believing that you can be successful; pārliecināts par sevi, paļāvīgs, pašpaļāvīgs, pašapzinīgs
Ella felt confident before the interview because she had prepared.
gentle — [ˈdʒen.təl] — calm and kind, especially in the way you speak to or treat other people; maigs, saudzīgs, lēnprātīgs
The nurse was gentle with the frightened child and spoke in a calm voice.
grateful — [ˈɡreɪt.fəl] — feeling or showing thanks because somebody has helped you or done something kind for you; pateicīgs
I was grateful to my classmate for helping me complete the project.
organised (American English: organized) — [ˈɔː.ɡən.aɪzd] — able to plan your work, time and activities well; organizēts, tāds, kurš prot labi plānot savu darbu un laiku
Leo is very organised and always completes his tasks on time.
reliable — [rɪˈlaɪ.ə.bəl] — able to be trusted to do your work well or keep your promises; uzticams, tāds, uz kuru var paļauties, drošs
Marta is reliable, so her teacher knows that she will finish the work on time.
responsible — [rɪˈspɒn.sə.bəl] — behaving sensibly, completing your duties and accepting the results of your actions; atbildīgs, uzticības cienīgs
A responsible employee checks their work carefully before submitting it.
sensible — [ˈsen.sə.bəl] — able to make good decisions based on reason and experience rather than emotion; [sa]prātīgs
It was sensible of Tom to ask for help instead of trying to solve the problem alone.
smart — [smɑːt] — intelligent and able to learn or understand things quickly; gudrs, attapīgs
Lina is smart and usually finds a solution to difficult problems.
sociable — [ˈsəʊ.ʃə.bəl] — enjoying meeting and spending time with other people; sabiedrisks
Ben is sociable and enjoys working with different people.
talented — [ˈtæl.ən.tɪd] — having a natural ability to do something well; talantīgs, apdāvināts
The talented student designed an excellent poster for the school event.
welcoming — [ˈwel.kəm.ɪŋ] — friendly and pleasant towards people who are visiting or arriving; viesmīlīgs, laipns, pretimnākošs
The hotel staff were welcoming and helped us with our bags.
Neutral or context-dependent personality traits
experienced — [ɪkˈspɪə.ri.ənst] — having a lot of knowledge or skill in a particular job or activity; pieredzējis, piedzīvojis
The company is looking for an experienced designer who can work independently.
keen — [kiːn] — very interested in or enthusiastic about an activity or idea; ieinteresēts, aizrautīgs, dedzīgs, vērīgs
Sara is keen on learning new skills and taking part in different projects.
nervous — [ˈnɜː.vəs] — worried, anxious or slightly afraid about something; nervozs, satraukts
Alex felt nervous before speaking in front of the whole class.
professional — [prəˈfeʃ.ən.əl] — showing that someone is well trained, skilled and behaves appropriately at work; profesionāls
The receptionist remained professional and polite when dealing with the complaint.
proud — [praʊd] — feeling pleased and satisfied about something you have done or are connected with; lepns, iedomīgs, augstprātīgs
Her parents were proud of her for winning the competition.
relaxed — [rɪˈlækst] — calm and not worried, anxious or tense; mierīgs, atslābināts, nepiespiests
Even during busy days, our team leader remains relaxed and friendly.
Negative personality traits
annoying — [əˈnɔɪ.ɪŋ] — making somebody feel slightly angry or impatient; kaitinošs, nepatīkams
It is annoying when someone interrupts others during a meeting.
cruel — [ˈkruː.əl] — deliberately causing physical or emotional pain to another person or animal; cietsirdīgs, nežēlīgs
The cruel boy laughed at his classmate instead of helping him.
forgetful — [fəˈɡet.fəl] — often forgetting things, names or duties; aizmāršīgs, nevērīgs
My brother is forgetful and often leaves his schoolbooks at home.
unfriendly — [ʌnˈfrend.li] — not kind, pleasant or welcoming towards other people; nedraudzīgs, nelaipns, nelabvēlīgs
The shop assistant seemed unfriendly and did not answer the customer’s questions.